William Keith of Delny

Sir William Keith of Delny (died 1599) was a Scottish courtier and Master of the Royal Wardrobe. He also served as ambassador for James VI to various countries. He was an important intermediary between George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and the king, the king and courtiers, and the king and foreign governments.

William Keith was a son of Andrew Keith, laird of Ravenscraig, Aberdeenshire, and distantly related to the Earls Marischal. In 1579, he was made a valet in the household of James VI of Scotland.

In May 1583 he accompanied Colonel William Stewart and John Colville on an embassy to London to seek English support for the government of William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie. On 1 June he was attacked and insulted by Marmaduke Hedworth, Robert Banks, and others outside Durham on the way back. Hedworth declared Keith was a "Scottish villain" and he replied "I am a gentleman."

Delny had sufficient influence to request that a namesake tailor, William Keith, be made a burgess of Edinburgh in April 1585.

In January 1586, William Cecil wrote to the Earl of Leicester with news that James VI had sent his envoy William Keith of Delny to London to conclude their league. Keith was involved in collecting the gifts of money which Queen Elizabeth gave to James VI, and made account of the money on 17 May 1586. On 19 May Keith was granted lands in Delny in Ross-shire for his good service.

Delny arrived in London on 5 November 1586 to intercede for the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, carrying the king's letter of instructions for Archibald Douglas. At that time, the French ambassador Du Preau, known as Courcelles, described Delny as a "pensionary and creature of the Queen of England".

He met up with Archibald Douglas and had an audience with Queen Elizabeth on 10 November. They requested that any proceedings against Mary should be delayed until members of the Privy Council of Scotland were present, and that nothing should prejudice James VI's succession to the English throne. Douglas and Delny attended a banquet with the commissioners at Mary's trial at Burghley's London house on 22 November, and were assured that nothing at Mary's trial had prejudiced James VI's title. James VI wrote to Delny that the execution of his mother would be a greater tragedy than the deaths of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Delny was reluctant to pass this letter to Elizabeth, but she heard of it, and Delny was forced to show it to her, and she was furious. Elizabeth was in a "passion" and the Earl of Leicester made a speech about the Scottish king's good intentions to appease her.

William Cecil wrote to Delny about "so strange and unseasonable message, as did directly touch her noble father (Henry VIII), herself, and all the estates of her present Parliament." Cecil said Elizabeth was now reluctant to receive further ambassadors from James VI. During the negotiations, Douglas said to Delny that he was "simple", meaning both honest and unsophisticated, and Delny wrote to John Maitland of Thirlestane that Douglas was a serpent in the likeness of a man, who had no care for the matter.